Missions Begin with Blood: Suffering and Salvation in the Borderlands of New Spain (Catholic Practice in North America)

In 1695, Father Antonio Menéndez, the Rector of the Mayo and Yaqui missions of Sonora, wrote to Father Eusebio Kino to assure him that the recent revolt of the O’odham and death of the missionary Father Javier Saeta was not a tragedy, but a triumph. He optimistically reassured Kino, “It is a good sign, Father, that all those missions begin with the blood of a minister to cultivate it since it is an indication of their perseverance and good stability.” While the idea that successful missions needed Indigenous revolts and missionary deaths seems counterintuitive, this book illustrates how it became a central logic of frontier colonization in Spanish North America. Missions Begin with Blood argues that martyrdom acted as a ceremony of possession that helped Jesuits understand suffering, violence, disease, and death as ways that God inevitably worked to advance Christendom. When positioning themselves vis-à-vis rival religious orders, petitioning superiors for support, preparing campaigns to extirpate native “idolatries,” or protecting converts from European and Indigenous enemies, Jesuits believed that winning would come through their wounding and victories through victimization. This book correlates these tales of suffering to deep genealogies of redemptive death in Catholic discourse and explains how such traditions and practices worked to rationalize early modern colonialism. Specifically, it focuses on an agricultural metaphor that pervaded missionary discourse where Jesuits understood their lives and labors as seed, watered by the sweat of their suffering, tears of their exile, and blood of their sacrifice. Winner, 2022 Frank S. and Elizabeth D. Brewer Prize While the idea that successful missions needed Indigenous revolts and missionary deaths seems counterintuitive, this book illustrates how it became a central logic of frontier colonization in Spanish North America. Missions Begin with Blood argues that martyrdom acted as a ceremony of possession that helped Jesuits understand violence, disease, and death as ways that God inevitably worked to advance Christendom. Whether petitioning superiors for support, preparing to extirpate Native idolatries, or protecting their conversions from critics, Jesuits found power in their persecution and victory in their victimization. This book correlates these tales of sacrifice to deep genealogies of redemptive death in Catholic discourse and explains how martyrological idioms worked to rationalize early modern colonialism. Specifically, missionaries invoked an agricultural metaphor that reconfigured suffering into seed that, when watered by sweat and blood, would one day bring a rich harvest of Indigenous Christianity. "While the idea that successful missions needed Indigenous revolts and missionary deaths seems counterintuitive, this book illustrates how it became a central logic of frontier colonization in Spanish North America. Missions Begin with Blood argues that martyrdom acted as a ceremony of possession that helped Jesuits understand violence, disease, and death as ways that God inevitably worked to advance Christendom. Whether petitioning superiors for support, preparing to extirpate Native "idolatries," or protecting their conversions from critics, Jesuits found power in their persecution and victory in their victimization. This book correlates these tales of sacrifice to deep genealogies of redemptive death in Catholic discourse and explains how martyrological idioms worked to rationalize early modern colonialism. Specifically, missionaries invoked an agricultural metaphor that reconfigured suffering into seed that, when watered by sweat and blood, would one day bring a rich harvest of Indigenous Christianity"-- Provided by publisher While the idea that successful missions needed Indigenous revoltsand missionary deaths seems counterintuitive, this book illustrateshow it became a central logic of frontier colonization in SpanishNorth America. Missions Begin with Blood argues thatmartyrdom acted as a ceremony of possession that helped Jesuitsunderstand violence, disease, and death as ways that God inevitablyworked to advance Christendom. Whether petitioning superiors forsupport, preparing to extirpate Native "idolatries," or protectingtheir conversions from critics, Jesuits found power in theirpersecution and victory in their victimization. This bookcorrelates these tales of sacrifice to deep genealogies ofredemptive death in Catholic discourse and explains howmartyrological idioms worked to rationalize early moderncolonialism. Specifically, missionaries invoked an agriculturalmetaphor that reconfigured suffering into seed that, when wateredby sweat and blood, would one day bring a rich harvest ofIndigenous Christianity List of Abbreviations | xi Introduction: Suffering and Salvation | 1 1 Seeds: Planting Conversions | 29 2 Weeds: Ritual Confrontations | 61 3 Fruits: Passionate Expansion | 95 4 Deserted: Prolonged Isolation | 133 5 Uprooted: Missionary Expulsion | 170 Epilogue: Civilization and Savagery | 199 Acknowledgments | 215 Notes | 219 Bibliography | 277 Index | 311